SCANNING THE DECADES FOR TIMELY TOPICS This segment concludes our Retrospective. Featured are two of the significant events of the 1980s as well as a “revisit” to previous decades. “CHIEF TELLS OF FIGHTING MGM FIRE” Chief Roy Parrish of Clark County, Nevada, described as “unreal” and like a “science fiction movie” the MGM Grand Hotel fire that occurred in Las Vegas on November 21, 1980. The fire claimed 84 lives: “18 died on the first floor, six others died in elevators, and one woman fell to her death while sliding down a rope U.” Six hundred seventy-nine victims were evaluated in hospitals and the city`s convention center; 382 were hospitalized. The hotel was 26 stories high and had 2,076 guest rooms and a 140-yard-long casino. Following are some of Parrish`s observations concerning the disaster. “The initial phone call on the fire was received by the Clark County Fire Department at…
